My recount of Paris 2023

This is a semi-autobiographical recount of what took place in Paris [EthCC], from the perspective of a 14-year-old addressed to the young people tasked with continuing the progression of our world. I believe this range of technologies will pass on to the new era, so I have taken it up to learn it and am inviting other aspiring young builders to join me.

First, you must recognize my background, I was introduced to this field, or more appropriately hidden world by my Brother, [madladshad]. But even before that, I spent my time well, I began learning technicals and even languages when I was roughly 10. My first experience of such was the metaverse/game engine Roblox, which I learned to build, and its native language.

DAY 0

To be honest, this day was quite bleak relative to the remainder ahead, We woke up, took Ishi,

This is Ishi, a long haired Shiba!

for a nice walk along the seaside then; journeyed from Portsmouth to Folkstone, which is where the adventure truly began, we awaited the terminal for what felt to be an unbearable span at time after we checked in the dog, with a little scare that we misplaced his documentation. We sat down, with some drinks and to occupy ourselves, we began putting together some of Shadi’s [my brother’s] business cards,

although they are ‘out of fashion’ so to speak, reintroducing them to a space which they are deemed useless brings a nice touch things and create that intriguing aspect to them. They consisted of a rainbow reflective pouch to which the business card was placed, the card itself was simple, a logo, the words “Growth dealer”, a call to action “1 free strategy call” and on the back was an email and phone number. Very simple, but elegant. So that’s what we did, maybe 150 were put together in the meantime. We then got on the train, and that practically concluded the day. We arrived at Calais, drove to the hotel and passed out.

DAY 1 [15th July]

As we start to ease into the long week ahead, we attend a large dinner hosted by Newcoin. By large, I mean in the area of 20 people in attendance. A few of them were consistently talking about their projects, however, most were just making friends, which logically is what business is, even more especially in this field. In reflection on this day, I somewhat failed. I was so intimidated by the atmosphere that I found it an arduous task to even join in on these conversations. My brother set me the task of getting at least 100 contacts by the end of the week, and in this dinner, I was choking when I spoke, and that was to even get one of them. I can easily relate to the young reader here, I’m sure many of you, if not all will have or soon will experience a similar problem.

DAY 2

This day included the first conference I attended, Autonomous Ecologies [@AutoEcologies] #2. To quickly define its name, autonomy suggests giving the people power, and control over a platform whether through a democratic voting process, allowing people to create content on a platform, etc… Ecology in this context means our environment and our systems. There was a stall that I took interest in especially, The Black Sky Society [@BlackSkySociety],

this is a community of philosophers and visionaries who discuss and are firm believers in the Darkfi concept, of absolute privacy and rely on zk proofs, from the proof of stake consensus layer up has been constructed in a way which puts anonymity first. We went to the auditorium to listen to the actual talks and the discussion was on Urbit [@urbit], a privacy-centric, P2P OS.

For example with its most common use case, chat, and communications; Let’s imagine a graph, when sending a message with Telegram, you send a request to a server, which then relays the message to the other user. But what does Telegram store? What do they collect? Encryption isn’t foolproof, it can certainly be backdoored, and in the future, with whatever innovative technology we have such as quantum computing, it can easily be broken. However, with Urbit’s native chat app, it goes directly from point A to point B and attempts to do so in the most secure fashion possible. To quickly define OS, it is something on which applications may be run on.

Also in the auditorium with us was Thomas [Deputy Executive Director] of Urbit, a friend of ours. I learned lessons today, I lacked efficiency in my time management, and I wasn’t learning enough. I have uncertainty about what I’m doing and therefore need to learn to harness certainty from it. We then took a brief break to get some lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant.

As it was EthCC week, Paris became a hub for everything crypto, so it was an inevitability that we would meet people there too, and so we did. It was a nice group of people. Jacob took particular interest in my story and introduced me to a few initiatives [BuildGuild and 100 days of code] and offered me further guidance along with his contact. It turns out, that people really like the concept of young people in crypto and, as will become apparent, they don’t mind the idea of even hiring such people which itself will attract plenty of offers. We then went to the DAOist [@TheDAOist_], The attendees included many interesting people, with interesting projects, and talks were happening upstairs, One that I listened to was about Zk ID, specifically Polygon’s solution to such. Then there was a panel talk with my brother moderating it, it was simply titled, “Everything is okay”, with an omitted “?”, It was questioning the state of affairs in DAOs, where are things going wrong?

Following this was another dinner, hosted by Newcoin, a nice hotpot dinner with some 30 people there. Sitting to my right owned a platform that helps onboard other projects with a metaverse-like experience. Again, pretty cool people.

We stayed around until around 12:30 am then finally got to go home. This was quite a common occurrence.

Day 3

On the third day, I attended the Day 2 Near [@modular_summit] event. The day started with some networking, and I was able to make three new contacts, which was great. The conference had two main panels - one focused on regulatory and legal matters in the crypto space, and the other geared towards providing tools and insights for startup founders in the industry.

At around 3 pm, I decided to head to a nearby café to relax for a bit. To my surprise, it seemed that most of the cafes in the area were entirely occupied by others in Paris for the EthCC event. However, I managed to find a cozy spot to sit and reflect on the discussions from the conference.

As I interacted with others at the café, I was fascinated to hear about their experiences and how they got involved in this fast-growing field.

Reflecting on the day, I realized that the crypto industry holds great potential for young professionals like me. It's a space where innovation and compliance coexist, offering a unique opportunity to be part of something groundbreaking. I'm looking forward to exploring more and considering a future career in crypto, as it seems to be a space where I can make a meaningful contribution and be part of an exciting community of forward-thinkers.

Day 4

Day 4 began with a leisurely morning as we allowed ourselves some extra rest. Once we were up and ready, we had the pleasure of meeting Hartej, a close friend of my brother, Shadi. Together, we all headed to a dinner event hosted by Thomas, the deputy executive director of Urbit. It was an excellent opportunity to network and immerse ourselves further into the crypto community. During the dinner, Shadi struck a deal with Thomas and was quite happy for the remainder of the day.

After an enjoyable time at Thomas's dinner, we proceeded to a second dinner gathering with two more friends [Malene and Anoop], where we engaged in some fascinating discussions about their ongoing projects in the crypto space. To my delight, during this dinner, both Thomas and the other acquaintance generously offered me two distinct opportunities. They proposed that I could build on either of their platforms and in return, they would provide a grant to support my endeavors. It was an unexpected and heartwarming gesture that filled me with a sense of gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead.

Throughout the day, I couldn't help but feel fortunate to be surrounded by such a welcoming and supportive crypto community. The connections and opportunities that have come my way have been both inspiring and promising. As I consider the paths laid out before me, I am eager to explore these prospects further and contribute my skills to the development of innovative projects in the crypto space. The journey has been enriching so far, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the adventures that await in this fast-evolving world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Day 5

On day 5, we started the morning with a similar routine. After parking the car, we took a pleasant walk to where it was parked, enjoying the fresh air and the anticipation of another eventful day ahead. Once back home, we made sure Ishi had his food, ensuring he was well taken care of.

Shadi had an important meeting to attend, so he dropped me off at the "Infra Garden" event hosted at a French Restaurant. As Shadi went off, I gave myself some time to overcome the social boundary I faced, following such, I eagerly delved into the event, immersing myself in the latest discussions and innovations in the crypto space.

Later, Shadi returned, having made valuable contacts during his absence. We then headed to the second event of the day, zkDay. My brother assigned me the task of approaching each stall, inquiring about their projects, and gathering their contact information. Engaging with various teams and learning about their groundbreaking ideas was both informative and inspiring.

During zkDay, I was pleasantly surprised to be presented with another opportunity to build on one of their platforms and receive compensation for my contributions. The continuous offers to collaborate and create within the crypto industry were both humbling and exciting. As well as their friendliness towards me in a crowd of 20-40 year olds.

Moreover, I was fortunate to reconnect with the friends I had met earlier, who kindly extended their offer to help me secure an internship. Their willingness to support me in my journey underscored the genuine camaraderie within the crypto community.

After a fulfilling day of networking and exploring potential opportunities, we returned home once again and took Ishi for a walk, enjoying some moments of relaxation and reflection.

As the day drew to a close, Shadi headed to a party to unwind and celebrate the achievements of the day. I couldn't help but feel grateful for the experiences and prospects that the crypto world had brought into my life. Each day seemed to present new doors to open, and I looked forward to embracing whatever awaited me in the vibrant and dynamic world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Day 6

On day 6, I started the morning using the rentable e-scooters to head out and get some breakfast.

It was a refreshing way to begin the day. After enjoying the morning outing, Shadi picked me up, and we returned home to prepare for the main event ahead.

In the evening, we attended a large party at a fabulous venue. To contribute to the event, I took on the responsibility of managing check-ins, welcoming attendees, and ensuring everyone hartefelt the warmth of the crypto community. From 7:00 pm until 1:30 am, I greeted guests with a smile, making sure they felt at home amidst the vibrant atmosphere. To give a rough estimate ~600 people turned up throughout the night. Throughout the evening, I had the incredible opportunity to engage in conversations with some remarkable individuals, including Ilia, the CEO of Near, and other leaders from various crypto projects. It was a surreal experience to converse with visionaries who are shaping the future of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Their insights and enthusiasm further fueled my passion for being a part of this revolutionary industry.

As the night went on, the connections made and conversations shared solidified my belief that the crypto community is truly a welcoming and supportive space. The willingness of industry leaders to engage with newcomers like me was both inspiring and encouraging.

As the party drew to a close, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far this journey had taken me in such a short time. I was left with a sense of gratitude and motivation, propelling me forward to explore even more opportunities and contribute to the innovation and growth of the crypto space.

Day 7

On day 7 of our adventurous crypto journey, I decided to attend a Hackathon event, but upon arriving, I realized it was way too far and daunting for me to handle. Feeling overwhelmed, I made the difficult decision to leave.

Instead, we headed to the Hyperoracle event, where we were warmly welcomed by Malene, whom we had met before. The event focused on off-chain computation for the Ethereum blockchain, and it was fascinating to learn about this aspect of the crypto world. The atmosphere was relaxed, and the good food and city view made it a pleasant experience. However, the mood was quite quiet since many attendees were still recovering from the party of the previous night.

At this point, I realized that I had reached a breaking point, realizing that I had pushed myself too hard, and a combination of factors, including fatigue, social anxiety, and impostor syndrome, took a toll on me. Acknowledging my limits was a crucial moment of self-awareness.

To unwind, we decided to head to an artisan café, where we enjoyed some tea with Max and his friend. It was a much-needed moment of relaxation and casual conversation. Shadi and Max discussed market affairs and how it could benefit them, but the conversation also delved into broader life topics.

To wrap up the day, we all went to a noodles restaurant for dinner. It was a pleasant way to bring the day to a close, enjoying good food and the company of friends.

Day 7 left me distraught, I was granted an opportunity that many others may never get to experience and I fumbled it.

Day 8

On day 8, to quickly describe what happened following the conclusion of yesterday’s notes, we witnessed a peculiar incident unfold. A man parked his van outside a shop but forgot to engage the brake properly. To our surprise, the van started rolling backward, posing a threat to the bikes and scooters parked behind it. In a quick response, my brother sprang into action and managed to stop the van just in time. However, the man didn’t take kindly to Shadi’s intervention and an altercation ensued. Despite the unexpected scuffle, Shadi handled the situation with composure and ensured everyone’s safety. Now continuing from today, Shadi organized a boxing fight with the man for a sense of justice, however, he refused, but did offer compensation in the form of a box of cigarettes so everything was alright.

We decided to take a long walk with our dog Ishi. The stroll allowed us to clear our minds and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Following the walk, we satiated our hunger with some lunch. Next on the agenda was the highly anticipated Modular Summit [@modular_summit], which we were fortunate enough to attend thanks to our friend David’s help. The summit was abuzz with activity, as we connected with more of Shadi’s friends in the crypto community. One exciting highlight was encountering Vitalik Buterin, a prominent figure in the world of cryptocurrencies (if not the most). I was thrilled to have the chance to shake hands with him, though a photo opportunity slipped away

During the summit, we sat in on an intriguing panel talk featuring Vitalik and other experts. The discussion delved into the complexities of on-chain governance, especially in correlation to soft governance. The insights shared were thought-provoking and shed light on the challenges faced in governing blockchain networks.

As the summit came to a close, we quickly left to check on the car, which was parked in a rather illegitimate spot. Fortunately, it was still there… lol.

To conclude the day on a delightful note, we joined David for a scrumptious dinner at a charming Georgian restaurant, unfortunately, Max couldn’t make it due to some other arrangements. We enjoyed a wonderful evening of good food and great company. Day 8 proved to be an eventful mix of unexpected incidents, valuable insights, and meaningful connections within the crypto community. The journey continued to offer exciting experiences. This concludes my time in Paris, I learned lessons, many of them, insights into a world of uncertainty and bountiful opportunity. Following this day, we had to leave and we headed to the outskirts of France along the seaside to go along with our leisurely drive down to Barcelona to help us decompress.

To conclude it can and will be stressful, but so will any other sectors. The real question is the comparison of outcomes, Which one will lead to a better outcome, not only for you but the world as a whole? I am not here to shill you anything, I am here to present you with my raw experience, and from that, I conclude the significance of blockchain technology but not only that, the significance of other progressive innovations for the new digital era. I believe that this is the answer, and which is why I have chosen so early to involve and integrate myself. If you’re worried about it, yes, there is a place to you, and one open to you right now, you just have to put effort in and position yourself appropriately, and it'll all come together.

Stats:

I made 47 contacts

Fumbled 1 massive opportunity

Was offered 5 different opportunities for work

Succeeded in surviving another week, and so.

List of people who helped in my journey:

Shadi — @madladshad

Max- @contributooor

David- @thereasonwhyeth

Hartej- @hartej_

Malene- @ronstedt

Jacob- @jacobdcastro